The Magic Shoes
by Allison Carroll
Summary: During one the darkest times, Ginny and Harry are able to share one last happy moment together.


_**The Magic Shoes**_

**A/N: **I wrote this today between classes. It was cold and raining and all I could think about was dancing in the puddles. Anyways, I hope you enjoy it, too!

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Ginny bundled up in front of the fireplace in the Gryffindor common room. It was the night before Christmas and most of the other students were spending the holiday with their families. Ginny hardly knew the few students who were staying at Hogwarts leaving her feeling lonelier than ever. 

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were visiting Charlie in Romania, Bill went with Fleur to see her family in France, the twins were busy with business, no one ever talked to Percy these days, and who knew what Ron, Harry, and Hermione were off doing? Life just couldn't get any worse when you're seventeen and you have no one to turn to.

The snow was falling more forcefully when the clock struck midnight, reminding Ginny that it was Christmas and time to go to bed. However, Ginny ignored the ringing chimes. Perhaps if she couldn't have her family together, then maybe she could have something else. She sat back in her chair and stared at the ceiling. There had been a time when she was happy, when she had her family, and the holiday actually meant something to everyone.

She sat with her eyes closed, reflecting on all of the Christmas holidays she had spent at the Burrow. Finally, she settled on a memory—one she had not thought of since she was five-years-old. On that Christmas, Bill had given her a pair of magic shoes. Ginny recalled her younger self walking around the house, wishing she had the ability to dance, but every time she tried, she would fall and hit her head on something.

"Here, Ginny!" Bill had offered his gift that morning. "This is so you will stop breaking that cute, little head of yours!"

Inside the box were sparkling, gold slippers enchanted to give their owner the ability to dance. Ginny remembered how much she had loved those shoes. In the months after, she refused to take them off. She danced her little heart out wherever she went, gliding around the room like an ice skater. Her joy was short-lived, however, when she both outwore and outgrew her beautiful pair of slippers. By spring, her mother had thrown them out and replaced them with a normal, secondhand pair. Ginny couldn't recall ever crying harder than she had then when she found out her mother had gotten rid of one of the most precious things a five-year-old could have.

Twelve years later, Ginny still longed for the pair of shoes she once had. Maybe if she could dance again, she might be taken back in time to a place where she was safe and the Dark Lord was only a shadow of the past…

At half past midnight, the chimes rang again and Ginny decided to make her way to her empty dorm. At least she might be able to sleep in with no one to disturb her in the morning, she thought as she closed her brown eyes and let her mind fall into a comfortable peace.

Ginny didn't open her eyes again until a bright beam of light tickled her face. "Eight o'clock," Ginny grumbled, rolling over. "Even the weather is celebrating the holiday!" However, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't go back to sleep. Deciding suddenly that opening her medium-size pile of gifts was a better use of her time, Ginny resolved to getting up and out of bed.

On top of the pile was the annual gift from her mum: a yellow knitted sweater and mince pies. Fred and George had gone out of their way to buy her an expensive set of quills and Charlie had sent a beautiful, new black cloak that claimed to keep a person warm no matter what the temperature was. Even Percy had sent a card and some money for new robes, but after his display towards her family, Ginny had half-a-mind to send the money back.

Then, Ginny came over a letter that was written in Hermione's neat handwriting. Ginny's heart almost stopped beating as she carefully opened the letter. This was the first time she had heard from the trio since they had left the previous summer and seeing this letter brought a sparkle of hope into her heart. Attached to Hermione's letter was one from Ron; both letters apologized for not being there to wish her a Merry Christmas, but promising to see her soon. To Ginny's disappointment, there was no mention of their quest, no word on where they were, and no word about Harry. The last realization was accompanied with a stab of pain in the depths of her stomach.

"Oh well," she sighed, excusing the horrible feeling in her chest and picked up the last gift: the one from Bill and Fleur. The colorful wrapping paper definitely reflected Fleur's fine taste, but under the wrapping and beneath all the tissue paper, Ginny squealed in delight at the thing she knew was completely from Bill: a duplicate pair of gold, magic dancing slippers.

"How did he know?" Ginny cried, holding up the pair.

A letter fell to the ground and Ginny swooped down and picked it up, instantly recognized Bill's untidy scrawl:

_My Dear Sister,_

_Though the days are dark and gloomy, I would do anything to see your beautiful smile again. I know Mum had thrown out the other pair of shoes, so I hope these bring back happier memories._

_Love, your favorite brother and sister-in-law,_

_-Bill and Fleur_

Tears streamed down Ginny's cheek as she read and reread the letter. Of all the things Bill could have bought her, how did he knew to get her those slippers? They were just a child's toy when she was five, how did he remember?

Ginny slipped into the shoes and spun in three complete circles: perfect balance. With a gleeful cry, she ran down the stairs, through various corridors, and finally into the Entrance Hall where she turned right and exited the castle, taking a leap into the freezing snow.

Snowflakes swirled around Ginny as she spun on her toes, jumped, leaped, and waltzed across her private ball room. For the first time since Ginny came back to school, she felt carefree and happy; all the worries and stress melting off of her and falling into the snow. For a few blissful moments, life was like it used to be: wonderful and hopeful, as if there wasn't a death threat looming ever so near to her every day. Ginny was on top of the world, on top of everything that had ever made her miserable. Then, the next moment, she was falling face-first into the powder beneath her.

"Umph!" she cried. "What's going on?"

She looked down at her feet to find her shoes- the beautiful reminder of her cheerful childhood- had fallen off and disappeared in the snowy blanket around her.

"No!" she screamed, getting back onto to her bare feet and looking around her. The wind began to pick up and new snowflakes were now covering up her tracks. Any luck Ginny had of finding her shoes vanished as the snow covered the ground at a greater pace. Ginny plopped down back into the snow, hiding her face in her hands and crying for all life was worth.

This was turning out to be a terrible holiday. Her family wasn't there for her, she was alone on Christmas day, and the only thing that brought her joy had disappeared before her eyes. Ginny didn't care if she was acting like she was five-years-old. There was no one there to watch her, no one there to feel her pain, and pick her up out of the snow.

"Ginny? What are you doing down there?"

Ginny looked up and almost jumped. "Harry?"

Harry's dark form was barely a few feet away from her, and his body shivered from the cold winds. "No, I'm Ron in Harry's body," Harry answered with a laugh, offering his hand out to the younger girl. "I'm sorry I didn't write to you, but I wanted to see you in person."

"No problem," Ginny quickly answered, grabbing his hand and letting him lift her out of the snow.

"What are you doing in this cold? And where are you shoes? Do you always run through the snow barefoot?" Harry teased.

Ginny burst into tears at the thought of her shoes lost somewhere under the white sea of ice. "I lost them," she sobbed, hiding her face on Harry's coat and letting Harry wrap his arms around her. "Bill gave me magic shoes and now I've lost them."

"Magic shoes?" Harry looked down at her. "I've never heard of them. What did they do? Allow you to fly?"

"No," Ginny hiccupped and looked him in the eyes. "They allowed me to dance."

Harry looked down into Ginny's sorrowful eyes and let go of her. With one swoop, he had Ginny in his arms and was spinning her around in circles, snow flying all around them. Ginny laughed, holding tightly to his neck and trying keep her face out of the wind.

"What are you doing?" she asked when he finally stopped, but didn't let go of her.

"You might have lost your shoes, Gin," Harry told her seriously, "but you haven't lost me. Is it Ok if I substitute?"

Ginny giggled in reply and Harry took that as an answer to keep spinning her around the grounds. There was no one there to watch them, no one there to make them stop, or say that it was time to go inside because the temperature was below freezing. It was only Ginny and Harry in their own little winter world, holding onto to the smallest bit of happiness that they would be experiencing for a long while.

At the end of the dance, Harry placed a kiss on Ginny's lips and took her inside. As she watched Harry make his way across the grounds to leave, Ginny knew she would never regret that Christmas ever. Even though everything else seemed to go wrong, she would always remember the "Potter Waltz."


End file.
